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Standing tall: Michigan State wins Big Ten title

By BTN.com staff -
1 year ago

(AP) Michigan State shook up the BCS title chase again Saturday night. The No. 10 Spartans regained the lead on Connor Cook‘s 9-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Price with 11:41 left and upset No. 2 Ohio State 34-24 to take the Big Ten title and put Auburn back in the national title hunt.

“Coach (Mark Dantonio) said, ‘You’re the ones.’ We’re the ones, we’re going to the Rose Bowl,” Cook said after being selected the game’s MVP.

Ohio State (12-1) had the nation’s longest active winning streak end at 24 as coach Urban Meyer suffered his first loss since taking over in Columbus.

It was a game that almost defied logic.

The Spartans (12-1) led 17-0 after 21 minutes, then gave up the next 24 points before scoring the final 17.

Michigan State sealed the victory, and its probable trip to the Rose Bowl, with Jeremy Langford‘s late 26-yard TD run. The Spartans haven’t played in Pasadena since 1988.

For the Spartans, it was a monumental win.

They have won 12 games in a season for the first time, won their ninth straight for the first time since starting 9-0 in 1966 and are likely headed to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1988 – though Dantonio said earlier this week he thought Michigan State could have a claim on the BCS game with a win. The only thing that could keep the Spartans out was a 17-13 loss at Notre Dame on Sept. 21.

“We were inches away but our team was resilient last year, so we felt coming into this season if we could find our identity and pushed it a little bit, we’d get there,” Dantonio said during the celebration. “We believed, we believed.”

No. 10 Michigan State held No. 2 Ohio State to 28 total yards during the first quarter and Michigan State leads 3-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Michigan State’s Jeremy Langford ran for 16 yards and caught three passes for 11 yards in the quarter. Michigan State scored when Michael Geiger kicked a 40-yard field goal to clinch a 13-play, 47-yard drive, giving Michigan State the game’s first lead.

The Spartans will start the second quarter with possession at their own 28-yard line.

Quick take: Ohio State found its groove in the second quarter, stringing together some good drives and totaling 170 yards after having just 28 in the first quarter. The best drive was a five-play, 84-yard effort that resulted in OSU’s first TD of the night
to get it back in the game after falling behind 17-0 after Connor Cook heaved a perfect 33-yard strike to Tony Lippett.

Key moment: In the dying moments of the half, Ohio State marched 53 yards in seven plays for a field goal as the half expired. The key play was a Braxton Miller-to-Jeff Heuerman 36-yard pass to the MSU 11-yard line that set up a 28-yard field goal by Drew Basil that made it 17-10 Michigan State at the half. We have us a ball game.

Key play: With the pocket breaking down around him on a second-and-eight from the OSU 18-yard line, Braxton Miller broke contain and bolted 48 yards. It was vintage Miller. Up to that point, OSU had just 38 yards. OSU went on to score its lone TD of the half on the series.

Key number: 324, combined yards in the second quarter. The teams combined for just 71 in the first quarter.

Key penalty: None. Pretty clean game so far.

Key score: Trailing 17-0 and needing something positive to happen, Ohio State marched 84 yards on five plays to cut the MSU lead to 17-7 on a 20-yard TD toss from Braxton Miller to Philly Brown. OSU needed the score to stay in the game. Mission accomplished.

Quick take: Ohio State found its groove in the second quarter, stringing together some good drives and totaling 170 yards after having just 28 in the first quarter. The best drive was a five-play, 84-yard effort that resulted in OSU’s first TD of the night to get it back in the game after falling behind 17-0 after Connor Cook heaved a perfect 33-yard strike to Tony Lippett.

Key moment: In the dying moments of the half, Ohio State marched 53 yards in seven plays for a field goal as the half expired. The key play was a Braxton Miller-to-Jeff Heuerman 36-yard pass to the MSU 11-yard line that set up a 28-yard field goal by Drew Basil that made it 17-10 Michigan State at the half. We have us a ball game.

Key play: With the pocket breaking down around him on a second-and-eight from the OSU 18-yard line, Braxton Miller broke contain and bolted 48 yards. It was vintage Miller. Up to that point, OSU had just 38 yards. OSU went on to score its lone TD of the half on the series.

Key number: 324, combined yards in the second quarter. The teams combined for just 71 in the first quarter.

Key penalty: None. Pretty clean game so far.

Key score: Trailing 17-0 and needing something positive to happen, Ohio State marched 84 yards on five plays to cut the MSU lead to 17-7 on a 20-yard TD toss from Braxton Miller to Philly Brown. OSU needed the score to stay in the game. Mission accomplished.

No. 2 Ohio State trailed by 17 points earlier in the game, but has come all the way back to take a 24-20 lead over No. 10 Michigan State at the end of the third quarter.

Ohio State ran for 137 yards during the quarter.

The Buckeyes got even after Braxton Miller kept it himself for an eight-yard touchdown run to end a six-play, 75-yard drive that tied the score at 17. Ohio State kept the ball on the ground during the drive, throwing only one pass.

Miller kept it himself for a six-yard touchdown run to break the 17-17 deadlock in favor of the Buckeyes. The play capped off a five-play, 44-yard scoring drive. The drive was set up at the Michigan State 44-yard line when Corey (Philly) Brown returned a punt.

The Spartans finished off a 48-yard drive when Michael Geiger drilled a 44-yard field goal to make the score 24-20. Michigan State crossed midfield on Jeremy Langford’s 34-yard run from the 25-yard line.

The Spartans’ Connor Cook reached the 200-yard passing mark for the game thanks to 19 yards in the quarter, and currently sits with 201 yards in all.

The Buckeyes’ Carlos Hyde topped 100 yards rushing for the game in the quarter, with time to add to his 111 total yards on the ground.

Ohio State has possession on its own 42-yard line to start the fourth quarter.

Quick take: Ohio State officially took control of the game in the third quarter erasing a 17-0 deficit and taking a 24-20 lead with 24 unanswered points. OSU had 151 yards in the quarter; MSU had just 67.

Key moment: Ohio State took the opening drive of the second half and marched 75 yards on seven plays, capping the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run by Braxton Miller that tied the game at 17-17. You could feel mojo swinging at that point toward the Buckeyes, who trailed 17-0 at one point.

Key play: On a fourth-and-two late in the third quarterback, Connor Cook called his own number and gained six yards to pick up a first down. It was the second time in the game Cook converted a fourth down with a keeper. And, just like the first conversion in the first quarter, this drive ended with a field goal (44 yard) by Michael
Geiger to cut OSU’s lead to 24-20 with 2:29 left in the third quarter. That ended a 24-0 run by the Buckeyes. MSU needed those points to stem the tide.

Key number: 67, yards for MSU to 151 for OSU. The Buckeye offense is coming to full life.

Key penalty: None

Key score: Miller bolted in from six yards out with 5:36 left in the third quarter to make it 24-17 OSU. It was the Buckeyes’ first lead of the game.

Quick take: Ohio State officially took control of the game in the third quarter erasing a 17-0 deficit and taking a 24-20 lead with 24 unanswered points. OSU had 151 yards in the quarter; MSU had just 67.

Key moment: Ohio State took the opening drive of the second half and marched 75 yards on seven plays, capping the drive with an 8-yard touchdown run by Braxton Miller that tied the game at 17-17. You could feel mojo swinging at that point toward the Buckeyes, who trailed 17-0 at one point.

Key play: On a fourth-and-two late in the third quarterback, Connor Cook called his own number and gained six yards to pick up a first down. It was the second time in the game Cook converted a fourth down with a keeper. And, just like the first conversion in the first quarter, this drive ended with a field goal (44 yard) by Michael Geiger to cut OSU’s lead to 24-20 with 2:29 left in the third quarter. That ended a 24-0 run by the Buckeyes. MSU needed those points to stem the tide.

Key number: 67, yards for MSU to 151 for OSU. The Buckeye offense is coming to full life.

Key penalty: None

Key score: Miller bolted in from six yards out with 5:36 left in the third quarter to make it 24-17 OSU. It was the Buckeyes’ first lead of the game.

No. 10 Michigan State took the lead in the fourth quarter and survived the late stages of the game to take home a 34-24 win over No. 2 Ohio State. With 11:41 to go, Connor Cook threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Price to give Michigan State the lead, 27-24.

The Spartans racked up 103 passing yards and 71 rushing yards in the fourth quarter. Michigan State went on a 17-point run to close the game.

Cook’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Price after a seven-play, 90-yard drive locked in the the Spartans lead, 27-24, enough to hold on for the win.

Michigan State added to its advantage when Jeremy Langford ran 26 yards for a touchdown, the final play on a six-play, 62-yard drive to give Michigan State the lead, 34-24.

The Spartans’ Cook passed for 103 yards in the quarter to put him over 300 yards for the game. Cook finished with 304 yards through the air.

Michigan State’s Langford hit 100 yards rushing for the game in the quarter, part of his 129-yard rushing performance.

Dienhart: This team always will have special place in heart of MSU fans

2 Comments

carlos carries the buckeye after terrible play calling in the first qt, then they take him back out in the fourth qt and down they go. Averaging 7yds a carry who in there right mind would take the ball out of his hand? yet the buckeye’s did. You deserve to lose with that horrible play calling.